Network Automation Maturity Model

The need for network automation

In today's fast-paced digital economy, the demand for agility and reliability in network infrastructure has never been higher. The complexity of modern networks has pushed traditional network management to its limits. Legacy and manual network management is no longer feasible due to the scale and dynamic nature of contemporary IT environments. 

Network automation introduces the ability to programmatically execute network management tasks with a multitude of benefits:

• Enhanced efficiency: Automation enables networks to handle repetitive tasks quickly and consistently, freeing up valuable resources and allowing IT personnel to focus on strategic initiatives.
• Reduced complexity: As networks grow in scale and intricacy, automation simplifies operations by managing the complexity behind the scenes, ensuring seamless network behavior.
• Improved accuracy and compliance: By removing the variable of human error, automation ensures that network configurations are applied accurately every time, aiding in compliance with industry standards and business policies.
• Increased agility: In the digital era, businesses must be able to pivot quickly. Network automation facilitates rapid scaling and reconfiguration of network resources in response to changing business needs.
• Cost reduction: Automating routine network operations reduces the labor hours needed for network management, leading to significant cost savings over time.
• Self-healing: Advanced network automation can respond to network failures and rectify them before they cause further disruptions.

The evolution toward a fully automated network is not a product purchase. Rather, it's a journey through various levels of maturity, each bringing its own benefits and challenges. The ultimate goal is to achieve a self-operating, autonomous, automated network - one that not only supports the business but also contributes to its growth by enabling innovation, providing insights, and maintaining optimal performance without human oversight.

Incorporating network automation is not just an operational decision; it's a strategic move toward future-proofing an organization's network infrastructure, ensuring it can support the demands of tomorrow as well as today.

Our Model

WWT developed this maturity model to help organizations grow their network automation capabilities related to people, process and technology. This model will help you understand where your organization stands today and the steps you can take to level up.

Definitions:

0: Absent: Organizations rely entirely on manual processes to deploy and manage network devices. Teams spend significant time and effort on network operations, from configuration to troubleshooting.

 1. Basic: Organizations start to implement the essential components of a network automation toolchain. Teams perform activities such as setting up code repositories and establishing a source of truth. 

2. Defined: Organizations begin to solidify their automation toolchain by integrating an orchestration platform. This creates an environment in which automation can be consumed and accessed more easily.

3. Established: Organizations develop automation code that adheres to best practices with teams using CI/CD pipelines and agile methodologies. This allows for the automation of complex, domain-specific tasks. 

4. Optimized: Organizations have fully integrated automation across IT operations, making it a shared enterprise utility. Connectivity with service platforms allows for real-time collaboration, agile incident response and the creation of scalable workflows.

5. Autonomous: Organizations leverage AI and machine learning to create a self-sufficient, resilient and proactive network. The network detects, analyzes and resolves issues in real time with minimal to no manual intervention.